Reborn in America, I am a legendary short seller on Wall Street.

Chapter 228 Making a phone call to arrange a meeting with Tesla

Larry has been deliberately avoiding thinking about the extremely coincidental assassination attempt these past few days, even though it has been making headlines recently.

Amidst the heated discussions in newspapers and on the streets, everyone in New York City, from the rich to the poor, from the mayor to the coachman, was talking about the most bizarre and unbelievable assassination attempt since the founding of New York City: the assassination of King Astor IV.

The most bizarre aspect of this incident is the target of the assassination attempt. Although Astor IV is currently the most famous young heir in the family, he is half scholar and half playboy. He has neither made the kinds of mistakes that Carnegie made that would easily offend people, nor has he been subjected to the relentless surveillance of his rivals.

Logically speaking, he shouldn't have suffered such an undeserved calamity.

Since people couldn't figure out the assassin's motives from the perspective of conflicting interests, they naturally assumed it might be a crime of passion, or that the increasingly prevalent anarchism in the United States was randomly selecting a target.

Of course, onlookers preferred to believe it was a crime of passion, and by this time, "insiders" had already begun to fabricate lengthy and erotic love triangle stories for King Astor IV, which were being widely circulated.

Pulitzer's newspapers also followed suit, with reporters and editors earnestly analyzing the ins and outs of the assassination, and even fabricating several different erotic versions of Astor IV's studies at Yale University.

This is true in every era; people love to see ordinary people rise to fame and great figures fall from grace. So, in the past few days, as news of the assassination spread, radiating from New York to the entire United States, newspaper sales have been particularly good!
King Astor IV kept his promise, though it's unclear how he managed to smooth things over with his superiors and subordinates.

In any case, the yellow news in the newspapers even found out the names of Astor IV's roommates from his university days, but Larry and Dunbar's names were never mentioned in the reports.

Larry and Mr. Dunbar had another discussion and deliberation in Central Park before returning to the Astor Hotel at 2 p.m.

Neither of them had time to eat, and they hurriedly went about their own business.

Larry went straight to the hotel’s telegraph room and sent an urgent telegram to the Western Union Telegraph Office, the closest to the train station in Boston. In the telegram, Larry gave the Astor Hotel’s phone number and asked Mr. K to call him as soon as he received the telegram.

At this time, local calls could be directly transferred from the hotel to the room, but long-distance calls were much more complicated. They had to go through Bell Telephone's long-distance dedicated line, and making calls was extremely expensive, costing $2 per minute, with two-way billing.

The long-distance telephone counter at the Astor Hotel is located next to the telegraph room, and is staffed by two dedicated waiters.

Larry ordered a lemon tea and a sandwich from the waiter and waited at the long-distance phone counter for Mr. K to call.

But communication was so slow at that time that Larry finished his sandwich, his lemon tea, and his refill of lemon tea, but still couldn't get a long-distance call from Mr. K.

Larry felt a bit bloated in his lower abdomen and wanted to go to the restroom to relieve himself, but he held back, fearing that the phone would ring as soon as he left.

After waiting for a full ten minutes, until Larry felt he needed to go to the bathroom, the special telephone on the long-distance call counter, which was as big as two regular telephones, finally rang.

"The call to Boston is connected! Who is waiting for a call from Boston?"

Larry quickly stood up, walked to the telephone, and tapped his fingers on the table. "My phone. I'm waiting for a call from Boston."

"Please wait a moment!" The waiter spoke briefly with the operator on the phone, then turned to Larry and asked, "Are you Mr. Livingston?"

“Yes,” Larry confirmed.

The waiter then handed the microphone to Larry.

Larry put the receiver to his ear, and a crisp female voice came through the intercom, "Mr. Livingston, please hold for a moment. We will connect you to a call from Boston."

Not long after, Mr. K's voice came through the receiver, mixed with crackling static, but it couldn't hide the pain in his voice.

"Boss, why did you choose this thing called a telephone? This damn thing is ridiculously expensive! I've been on the phone for over two minutes, and before I've even had a chance to speak to you, they've probably already deducted from my account what's equivalent to a week's worth of hard-earned wages! Are you sure this can't be said by telegram?"

Larry tapped his fingertips rapidly on the table twice, but his voice was eerily calm: "If you keep talking nonsense, we'll spend even more money. Now listen carefully, not a single word will be missed."

Larry paused slightly, his breathing becoming even lower, as if each word carried the weight of a thousand pounds: "...Take those 'hardware tools' you sold at the fishing port. And call all the guys who are usually quick, daring, and obedient."

There was a sudden silence on the other end of the phone, with only the hissing of electricity. Clearly, Mr. K had fully understood the true meaning of the "hardware tools" sold at the fishing port.

“Then,” Larry’s instruction was cold, clear, and left no room for doubt, “drop everything and get to the Astor Hotel in New York as fast as you can to find me.”

After a few seconds, Mr. K said in a tone as firm as a hammer, "Understood. I'll get on it right now. I'll come find you as soon as I get to New York."

After hanging up the phone, Larry pondered for a moment, making sure nothing was missed, before turning to the waiter at the counter to ask.
"How much is it in total?"

The waiter smiled professionally. "$4.5, sir. Please give me your room number, and I'll put it on your bill."

Larry shook his head, took out $5 from his pocket, bid, and then took the elevator back to his suite.

Larry had barely entered the room, and before he could even take off his coat, there was a knock on his bedroom door.

Larry was naturally a little nervous. He subconsciously touched his "Pioneer" automatic pistol, unsure whether he should cock it now, but he had already heard Matthew's voice outside the door. "It's Matthew!"

Larry opened the door to the hotel suite, and Matthew, standing in the doorway, pointed in the direction of the patent attorney's suite and said...
"Dr. Tesla has arrived."

Larry nodded. Matthew had told him yesterday that the engineer they were visiting was Nikola Tesla. Larry was a little surprised when he first heard the name, thinking, "What a coincidence! I only wanted to improve the cash register, and I've already managed to get an appointment with this scientific luminary."

Matthew had arranged to come over with Tesla this afternoon, but Larry was busy calling Mr. K and forgot about it.

When Larry followed Matthew to the patent attorney's suite, his gaze fell on the tall, thin figure by the window, and Larry was even more surprised, because he had met this person once before.

Nikola Tesla stood with his back to the door, his fingertips lightly tracing the windowpane, as if outlining the invisible electrical currents in the New York air outside. "Mr. Tesla, this is my brother," Matthew said to Tesla with a smile.

Tesla heard the sound by the door, turned around, his eyes sharp as a hawk's, yet carrying an almost obsessive enthusiasm, completely different from all the engineers and businessmen Larry had dealt with before.

“Mr. Tesla, thank you for coming. I just went out on an errand, sorry to have kept you waiting.” Larry waved for Matthew to come in with him.

“Neither energy nor time should be wasted, sir.” Tesla’s voice was clear and slightly accented, getting straight to the point. “Your assistant mentioned that you have unique insights into small electric motors, and even… some ideas that go beyond current applications?”

His gaze swept across the room, seemingly instinctively assessing the electrical characteristics of all the equipment.

Larry walked to the liquor cabinet, poured two glasses of brandy, and handed one to Tesla.
"Not an insight, Doctor. Just an observation. Modern motors are like caged beasts, huge and cumbersome. I'm wondering... is it possible to tame these 'beasts' and bring them into every ordinary corner?"

Larry had learned from Matthew that Tesla came because of the application scenarios for small motors that Larry had mentioned.

In fact, after learning that the other party was Tesla, Larry also had his own ideas, which was to try to find out where this famous electrical engineering expert could set the future of the electric motor.

Tesla took the glass but didn't drink it; a smile, somewhere between arrogance and enlightenment, played on his lips.
“A corner? You mean…like the one you plan to install in the cash register? A…invisible heart hidden under the counter, yet capable of driving the entire system’s precise operation?” He gently set down his wine glass, pulled a piece of draft paper from his coat pocket, which was densely covered with smooth formulas and exquisite mechanical sketches.

Larry was slightly startled, but remained outwardly calm: "The cash register is just the beginning. What I value is not the machine itself, but the concept of 'separation' and 'control.' If a machine can be freed from cumbersome hand cranks or massive central power shafts by an independent, small, and reliable power source, then the form of many things will be changed."

Larry deliberately spoke vaguely, attempting to test the limits of Tesla's imagination.

A sharp glint suddenly flashed in Tesla's eyes, and he spoke faster,
“You’re not thinking about machines, sir! You’re thinking about the ‘democratization’ of energy! Freeing power from the constraints of distance and cumbersome transmission mechanisms! But this requires extremely high frequencies, perfect alternating current phase control, and…”

He pointed sharply to a point on the sketch with his fingertip, “…a miniature commutator like this! You see, traditional designs here would produce unnecessary sparks and losses, but I’ve calculated that if I use my phase-splitting design…”

At this moment, the roles of offense and defense shift.

It was no longer Larry testing Tesla, but Tesla eagerly showing his world to his kindred spirits.

Larry pressed on, "So, what do you think is the biggest obstacle preventing this 'miniature beast' from becoming a reality? Is it the materials? The theory? Or...?"

He paused deliberately, waiting for the other person to reply.

"It's imagination!" Tesla declared decisively, his arm swinging out as if shattering an invisible barrier.
"Most people cannot imagine a future composed of countless tiny, efficient, and collaborative independent power units! They only see the roar of the central power station, but they cannot see that inside every desk, every kitchen, and even... yes, inside every cash register, there is a 'sun' that rotates on its own!"

He looked Larry straight in the eye, his gaze sharp as lightning: "Now, tell me, why do you really want it? It's not just to pop the cash drawer out faster."

Larry knew this was the final and most important confrontation. He leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice:

"For an era that belongs to electricity, Doctor."

Tesla frowned slightly.

"A brand new era, an era where energy and power are no longer bound by distance," Larry continued with a smile.
"Humanity has officially entered the steam engine age for over a hundred years. Yes, we enjoy the convenience of trains and can hear the roar of steam. All of humanity's progress over the past two thousand years before the Renaissance has been instantly surpassed in the steam age. But is that enough? I don't think so..."

A brief silence fell over the suite, broken only by Tesla's slightly heavy breathing.

Larry took a casual sip of brandy and continued, "I think human progress should be accelerated. In the electrical age, it's possible that the rate of progress in a hundred years could surpass the pace of human exploration in the entire steam age, and greatly expand the frontiers of humanity."

Tesla stared at Larry for a long time, the scientist's fervor on his face gradually turning into a deep scrutiny, before he said, "You should continue."

Larry nodded and said, "I've known for a long time that you and Mr. Edison don't get along. But I want to emphasize a quote from Edison himself, which I believe captures the true essence of the era that is about to begin..."

Larry spoke slowly on purpose, and sure enough, Tesla raised his eyebrows and urged, "Which sentence did he say?"

“Mr. Edison said, ‘We will make electricity so cheap that only the rich will burn candles!’ Clearly, he realized that for electric lights and electrical systems to succeed, they must be inexpensive and widespread.”

"Then what is the significance of your invention of the small motor?" Tesla's eyes gleamed with excitement. Clearly, he had already come to the answer, but he wanted Larry to say it himself.

Larry smiled, raised his glass, and gestured for Tesla to do the same.

"Application scenarios! Lighting alone is not enough. For a technology to quickly become mainstream, it must have visible new application scenarios that improve efficiency or reduce costs! If you can miniaturize electric motors and make them usable in various corners of the city that need power, then... on a smaller scale, the alternating current you advocate will naturally become mainstream..."

Tesla's eyes gleamed as he pressed on, "And from a more macro perspective?"

Larry laughed and continued, “On a grander scale, Alexander conquered territories, Columbus discovered the New World. And you, Mr. Tesla, are conquering the invisible realm, discovering a new continent of energy. What you are pioneering is humanity's second industrial revolution. What could be more worthy of dedicating your genius to this?”

Tesla seemed a bit confused. Larry's answer differed somewhat from what they had expected, but it might be even more appealing: "Is making the engine cheaper really that important?"

"Importantly, and if I may be so bold, your argument with Edison went astray from the very beginning. It shouldn't have been about whether alternating current or direct current is safer; it should have been about how to make people's cost of living even lower."

Larry raised his glass again, paying tribute to Tesla for the third time, "After all, this is what you just said about 'democratizing' energy."

Tesla nodded, finally picked up the glass of brandy, but didn't clink glasses with it. Instead, he took a sip and then said to Larry,

“I’ll take this job! I don’t want to make a fortune, but I want to liberate people from heavy, alienating labor, instead of just turning them into another tool to fill the pockets of capitalists.”

(End of this chapter)